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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}} {{Other uses}} [[File:Envelope - Boonville Address-000.jpg|thumbnail|Envelope with return address in top left corner]] In postal [[mail]], a '''return address''' is an explicit inclusion of the address of the person sending the message. It provides the recipient (and sometimes authorized intermediaries) with a means to determine how to respond to the sender of the message if needed. The return address should include an [[address]] or [[Post Office box|P.O. box]] details in the same way as the delivery address should. In most countries such as the [[United States]], [[Canada]], [[Australia]], [[France]], the return address is located in the upper left-hand corner of the [[envelope]], card, or label,<ref>{{cite web|title=Return Address {{!}} Postal Explorer |url=https://pe.usps.com/BusinessMail101?ViewName=ReturnAddress |website=United States Postal Service|language=en|access-date=2024-03-22|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322225409/https://pe.usps.com/BusinessMail101?ViewName=ReturnAddress |archive-date=2024-03-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Addressing mail accurately {{!}} Canada Post |url=https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/support/kb/business/address-accuracy/addressing-mail-accurately |website=Canada Post|language=en|access-date=2024-03-22|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322225016/https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/support/kb/business/address-accuracy/addressing-mail-accurately |archive-date=2024-03-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Addressing guidelines - Australia Post |url=https://auspost.com.au/sending/guidelines/addressing-guidelines |website=Australia Post|language=en|access-date=2024-03-22|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322224544/https://auspost.com.au/sending/guidelines/addressing-guidelines |archive-date=2024-03-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Guide pratique courrier |url=https://lastation.laposte.fr/sites/p8_u1/files/2023-05/Guide_Courrier_Histo_FR_Mars2023_LIV_05_05_23.pdf |website=La Poste|language=fr|access-date=2024-03-22|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322224532/https://lastation.laposte.fr/sites/p8_u1/files/2023-05/Guide_Courrier_Histo_FR_Mars2023_LIV_05_05_23.pdf |archive-date=2024-03-22}}</ref> which is also recommended by the [[Universal Postal Union]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Addressing and Postcode Manual |url=https://www.upu.int/UPU/media/upu/publications/manualAddressingAddressingAndPostcodeManualEn.pdf |website=Universal Postal Union|language=en|access-date=2024-03-22|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322230950/https://www.upu.int/UPU/media/upu/publications/manualAddressingAddressingAndPostcodeManualEn.pdf |archive-date=2024-03-22}}</ref> In the [[United Kingdom]], the return address is usually placed on the reverse of the envelope, after the words "Return address".<ref>{{cite web|title= How to address mail clearly, guide to clear letter addressing |url=https://personal.help.royalmail.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/81/~/how-to-address-your-mail-%28clear-addressing%29 |website=Royal Mail|language=en|access-date=2024-03-22|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322230442/https://personal.help.royalmail.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/81/~/how-to-address-your-mail-%28clear-addressing%29 |archive-date=2024-03-22}}</ref> Businesses often use envelopes preprinted with a return address. Many individuals have sheets of adhesive labels preprinted with their home address to affix to their correspondence. Charities sometimes include such sheets in mailshots. Rolls of return address labels can be purchased from companies that sell personalized labels to provide individuals an easy way to peel and stick return address labels to their envelopes. The return address is not required on postal mail. However, lack of a return address prevents the postal service from being able to return the item if it proves undeliverable; such as from damage, [[postage due]], or invalid destination. Such mail may otherwise become [[dead letter mail]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Business Mail 101|url=http://pe.usps.com/businessmail101/addressing/returnAddress.htm|website=United States Postal Service|accessdate=2013-08-23|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901161118/http://pe.usps.com/businessmail101/addressing/returnAddress.htm|archivedate=2013-09-01}}</ref> ==History== The return address has been used on US postage since the 1880s. As pressure printing became more commonplace during the early 1900s, labels became cheaper and more easily distributed. The profession involved with producing these labels was known as [[lithography]]. During the 1950s in the United States, more and more mail was not arriving at intended recipients, and as a result of the lack of a return address, said mail ended up in the [[dead letter office]]. With this rise in dead mail, the post office pleaded for people to use a return address. Even after this, the public still tended to neglect to add a return address. This prompted the [[postmaster]] to inform the public that mail without a return address would be less of a priority than mail with a return address. Still, the public did not widely use a return address until the 1960s when companies began to offer deals for preprinted return labels such as 2,500 labels for $2.00. They became more popular with the invention of label dispensers. With the invention of the [[personal computer]], software enabled people to print their own labels. As [[email]] began to overtake written mail, the return address became automatic in an e-mail.<ref>{{cite web|title=The History of Return Address Labels!|url=http://www.returnaddress.biz/the-history-of-return-address-label/|work=Web page|accessdate=2013-08-23|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921064118/http://www.returnaddress.biz/the-history-of-return-address-label/|archivedate=2013-09-21}}</ref> ==See also== * [[Nixie (postal)]] ==References== {{reflist}} [[Category:Address (geography)]]
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